Guide: Someone who shows others the way
by sorafallenangel11
Summary: Moving to Forks was never my first choice, but at least I was used to the rain. This doesn't mean I want to be here and it especially doesn't mean I want to go along with my ridiculous conscious and help two people who may as well be book characters, for all I know about them, stay in their Romeo and Juliet style romance whilst still keeping track of my own life. But I do. Sigh.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone. A new Twilight story for you all. I've been tossing this idea around for a while now and have spent the day writing 6,000 plus words of AU. Hope you enjoy, please read and review.**

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Chapter 1

It was raining when I arrived. This didn't surprise me. Auntie Lucy had warned me that it hardly ever stopped. Having moved to Forks, Washington from Manchester, England almost two years ago, she has spent those years complaining about the very similar weather conditions. I wouldn't have to adjust to changes in weather, which was perhaps the only bright side to this move. The move to Forks from Dorset was definitely not my idea; however, it had been forced on me and there was nothing I could do about it - I had, in fact, seen it coming. This didn't stop the resentment building, no matter how hard I tried to stop it.

I pushed these thoughts out of my mind as I walked out of the glass doors of Port Angeles' small airport. I saw my Aunt immediately - she was standing at the end of the shelter provided by the airport building, her large, black Range Rover haphazardly parked against the curb nearby.

"Alex!" She shouted to me and I could only just hear her over the downpour.

"Auntie!" I made my way over to her as quickly as I could whilst still lugging all my bags behind me. I dropped them without hesitation, though, to wrap my arms around Lucy as she embraced me. I leant into it fully, finding the comfort that I didn't even know I needed in it.

"I'm so glad you're here" She told me as she let me go, leaning down to grab most of the bags I'd dropped. I nodded at her, grabbing my last few pieces of luggage and following her to the car, heaving them into the boot as quickly as possible in the hopes that the rain wouldn't soak me through. Settling into the passenger seat soon after, I finger-combed my hair, relieved to find that whilst it was damp, it would be dry by the time we completed the hour-long drive to Forks.

"We've set up the basics of your room." My Aunt told me and I jumped at the sudden start to conversation. "Tim's got a few hours free tomorrow to take you to the local store and get the paint colour you want and some bedsheets." Tim has been her husband for over thirty years now and, whilst a quiet man, was nice enough.

"Thanks, Lucy. I appreciate it. I've got some money to deck out my room as well." I told her.

"Oh, no need for that. We can afford for you to decorate your room how you want." I wanted to protest, but knew that it would come to nothing and that I could just sneak in a few of my own purchases tomorrow.

The conversation tapered after that, with the only noise in the car coming mainly from the radio. We'd done much of the talking and arranging on the phone and over e-mail the last few weeks and had little to talk about because of it. I didn't mind.

We pulled up outside my new home soon enough. It was a fair-sized building with two floors. Carrying most of my bags through the house, Auntie Lucy pointed out the kitchen as the first room after the short hallway that led to the front door. The kitchen was large, with marble counter-tops and all white appliances. There was a rectangular, white wood table just visible in a small room next to the kitchen, connected through a large arch. Past the kitchen was a small bathroom and just past that was the living room. It was large, with a cream corner sofa and a matching arm chair. There was a large TV mounted on the wall opposite.

Going upstairs was an exercise, I discovered, whilst carrying so many bags, but we eventually made it. There were three bedrooms on this floor. The master bedroom, facing the side of the house, was my Aunts and Uncles. The smallest bedroom, which was also fairly large, held a king-sized bed already made - a guest room, ready for my cousins when they visit. The last room was my room and it faced the back garden and the surrounding forest. The walls were a boring cream and I was looking forwards to painting them my own colour. There was a wooden desk set underneath a large window. The double bed was set up in the middle of the room and along the far wall was a large dresser and a wardrobe. Smiling, I turned to look at my aunt, who was putting my bags on the bed.

"Thanks Auntie Lou. I love it." I meant it, as well. She beamed at me.

"Alright. Your bathroom is that door" She pointed to the left of my door. "Me and Tim have our own, so don't worry about sharing." She walked towards the door. "It's getting pretty late. Tim's getting take-away on his way home and I'll call up for you when he gets here, alright?"

"Yeah, ok. Thanks, Lou."

She smiled at me one last time before leaving the room, closing the door softly behind her. Finally alone, I walked to my new bed, pushed the bags off it and fell face forward into the pillows. And then I feel asleep.

* * *

I started school in Monday and I was dreading it. Walking into the office that morning, I greeted a red-headed older woman that was sat behind the main desk. A name tag declared her 'Mrs Cope'.

"Hello deary. A new student, ey? Well, let's see. You aren't Isabella, you look nothing like the Chief. Aha, must be Alexandra. Your Aunt registered you just the other week. Let's see, I have your timetable around here somewhere..."

I let the woman ramble on, only taking notice of the fact that I wasn't the only new student starting today.

"Aha, here you go."

I shook myself out of my thoughts as Mrs Cope held out a packet of papers to me. I was careful not to touch her fingers with mine and took the packet quickly. Flicking through them, I found a schedule, a map and what looked like a sign-in sheet.

"I've highlighted the best routes to each of your classes, the library and the cafeteria. Your teachers all need to sign that sheet and can you bring it back here at the end of day."

"Thank you, Mrs Cope."

"You're welcome, deary. Have a good day."

I smiled and turned back to leave the office. As I was doing so, I bumped into another girl coming in. She was a bit taller than me, with long brunette hair and matching eyes. Our hands brushed.

I didn't even bother smiling, let alone introducing myself, as I rushed to the nearest bathroom. It still took too long. By the time I reached an empty stall, I couldn't see in front of me. All I could see was a slim girl with brunette hair and matching eyes.

 _ ***** My mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down. It was seventy-five degrees in __Phoenix, the sky a perfect, cloudless blue. I was wearing my favorite shirt — sleeveless, white eyelet_ _lace; I was wearing it as a farewell gesture. My carry-on item was a parka._

 _In the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington State, a small town named Forks exists under a_ _near-constant cover of clouds. It rains on this inconsequential town more than any other place in the_ _United States of America. It was from this town and its gloomy, omnipresent shade that my mother_

 _escaped with me when I was only a few months old. It was in this town that I'd been compelled to spend a month every summer until I was fourteen. That was the year I finally put my foot down; these past three summers, my dad, Charlie, vacationed with me in California for two weeks instead._

 _It was to Forks that I now exiled myself— an action that I took with great horror. I detested Forks._

 _I loved Phoenix. I loved the sun and the blistering heat. I loved the vigorous, sprawling city._

 _"Bella," my mom said to me — the last of a thousand times — before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."_

 _My mom looks like me, except with short hair and laugh lines. I felt a spasm of panic as I stared at her wide, childlike eyes. How could I leave my loving, erratic, harebrained mother to fend for herself? Of course she had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still…_

 _"I want to go," I lied. I'd always been a bad liar, but I'd been saying this lie so frequently lately that it_ _sounded almost convincing now._

 _"Tell Charlie I said hi." *****_

I took a deep breath as it flashed through my head, the grimy walls of the school bathroom swimming into my vision before it disappeared again.

 _ ***** "So, in plain English, are we friends now?"_

 _"Friends…" he mused, dubious._

 _"Or not," I muttered._

 _He grinned. "Well, we can try, I suppose. But I'm warning you now that I'm not a good friend for you."_

 _Behind his smile, the warning was real._

 _"You say that a lot," I noted, trying to ignore the sudden trembling in my stomach and keep my voice_ _even._

 _"Yes, because you're not listening to me. I'm still waiting for you to believe it. If you're smart, you'll avoid me."_

 _"I think you've made your opinion on the subject of my intellect clear, too." My eyes narrowed._

 _He smiled apologetically._

 _"So, as long as I'm being… not smart, we'll try to be friends?" I struggled to sum up the confusing_ _exchange._

 _"That sounds about right."_

 _I looked down at my hands wrapped around the lemonade bottle, not sure what to do now._

 _"What are you thinking?" he asked curiously._

 _I looked up into his deep gold eyes, became befuddled, and, as usual, blurted out the truth._

 _"I'm trying to figure out what you are."_

 _His jaw tightened, but he kept his smile in place with some effort._

 _"Are you having any luck with that?" he asked in an offhand tone._

 _"Not too much," I admitted._

 _He chuckled. "What are your theories?"_

 _I blushed. I had been vacillating during the last month between Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. There_ _was no way I was going to own up to that._

 _"Won't you tell me?" he asked, tilting his head to one side with a shockingly tempting smile._

 _I shook my head. "Too embarrassing."_

 _"That's really frustrating, you know," he complained._

 _"No," I disagreed quickly, my eyes narrowing, "I can't imagine why that would be frustrating at all —_ _just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking, even if all the while they're making cryptic little remarks specifically designed to keep you up at night wondering what they could possibly mean… now, why would that be frustrating?"_

 _He grimaced._

 _"Or better," I continued, the pent-up annoyance flowing freely now, "say that person also did a wide_ _range of bizarre things — from saving your life under impossible circumstances one day to treating you like a pariah the next, and he never explained any of that, either, even after he promised. That, also, would be very non-frustrating."_

 _"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?"_

 _"I don't like double standards."_ _We stared at each other, unsmiling._

 _He glanced over my shoulder, and then, unexpectedly, he snickered._

 _"What?"_

 _"Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you — he's debating whether or not to come_ _break up our fight." He snickered again._

 _"I don't know who you're talking about," I said frostily. "But I'm sure you're wrong, anyway."_

 _"I'm not. I told you, most people are easy to read."_

 _"Except me, of course."_

 _"Yes. Except for you." His mood shifted suddenly; his eyes turned brooding. "I wonder why that is."_

 _I had to look away from the intensity of his stare. I concentrated on unscrewing the lid of my lemonade. I took a swig, staring at the table without seeing it._

 _"Aren't you hungry?" he asked, distracted._

 _"No." I didn't feel like mentioning that my stomach was already full — of butterflies. "You?" I looked at the empty table in front of him._

 _"No, I'm not hungry." I didn't understand his expression — it looked like he was enjoying some private_ _joke._

 _"Can you do me a favor?" I asked after a second of hesitation._

 _He was suddenly wary. "That depends on what you want."_

 _"It's not much," I assured him._

 _He waited, guarded but curious. *****_

I gasped for breath, bringing my hand up to grab at the toilet seats, not enough into reality to care about how dirty it was.

 _ *****_ _Edward in the sunlight was shocking. I couldn't get used to it, though I'd been staring at him all afternoon._

 _His skin, white despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface. He lay perfectly still in the grass, his shirt open over his_ _sculpted, incandescent chest, his scintillating arms bare. His glistening, pale lavender lids were shut, t_ _hough of course he didn't sleep. A perfect statue, carved in some unknown stone, smooth like marble,_ _glittering like crystal._ _Now and then, his lips would move, so fast it looked like they were trembling. But, when I asked, he told me he was singing to himself; it was too low for me to hear._

 _I enjoyed the sun, too, though the air wasn't quite dry enough for my taste. I would have liked to lie back, as he did, and let the sun warm my face. But I stayed curled up, my chin resting on my knees, unwilling to take my eyes off him. The wind was gentle; it tangled my hair and ruffled the grass that swayed around his motionless form._

 _The meadow, so spectacular to me at first, paled next to his magnificence._

 _Hesitantly, always afraid, even now, that he would disappear like a mirage, too beautiful to be real…_ _hesitantly, I reached out one finger and stroked the back of his shimmering hand, where it lay within my reach. I marveled again at the perfect texture, satin smooth, cool as stone. When I looked up again, his eyes were open, watching me. Butterscotch today, lighter, warmer after hunting. His quick smile turned up the corners of his flawless lips._

 _"I don't scare you?" he asked playfully, but I could hear the real curiosity in his soft voice._

 _"No more than usual." *****_

Falling forwards slightly, my cheek landed heavily on the porcelain. My hair fell into my eyes. I was starting to lose feeling in my feet.

 ** _*_** _"I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me._

 _"You see, the vampire who was so stupidly fond of this little victim made the choice that your Edward_ _was too weak to make. When the old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked — I never will understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you humans — and as soon as he freed her he made her safe. She didn't even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature. She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties it was the asylum and the shock treatments. When she opened her eyes, strong with her fresh youth, it was like she'd never seen the sun before. The old vampire made her a strong new vampire, and there was no reason for me to touch her then." He sighed. "I destroyed the old one in vengeance."_

 _"Alice," I breathed, astonished._

 _"Yes, your little friend. I was surprised to see her in the clearing. So I guess her coven ought to be able to derive some comfort from this experience. I get you, but they get her. The one victim who escaped me, quite an honor, actually._

 _"And she did smell so delicious. I still regret that I never got to taste… She smelled even better than you do. Sorry — I don't mean to be offensive. You have a very nice smell. Floral, somehow…"_

 _He took another step toward me, till he was just inches away. He lifted a lock of my hair and sniffed at it delicately. Then he gently patted the strand back into place, and I felt his cool fingertips against my throat._

 _He reached up to stroke my cheek once quickly with his thumb, his face curious. I wanted so badly to_ _run, but I was frozen. I couldn't even flinch away._

 _"No," he murmured to himself as he dropped his hand, "I don't understand." He sighed. "Well, I suppose we should get on with it. And then I can call your friends and tell them where to find you, and my little message."_

 _I was definitely sick now. There was pain coming, I could see it in his eyes. It wouldn't be enough for him to win, to feed and go. There would be no quick end like I'd been counting on. My knees began to_ _shake, and I was afraid I was going to fall._

 _He stepped back, and began to circle, casually, as if he were trying to get a better view of a statue in a museum. His face was still open and friendly as he decided where to start._

 _Then he slumped forward, into a crouch I recognized, and his pleasant smile slowly widened, grew, till it wasn't a smile at all but a contortion of teeth, exposed and glistening._

 _I couldn't help myself— I tried to run. As useless as I knew it would be, as weak as my knees already_ _were, panic took over and I bolted for the emergency door._

 _He was in front of me in a flash. I didn't see if he used his hand or his foot, it was too fast. A crushing_ _blow struck my chest — I felt myself flying backward, and then heard the crunch as my head bashed into the mirrors. The glass buckled, some of the pieces shattering and splintering on the floor beside me._

 _I was too stunned to feel the pain. I couldn't breathe yet._

 _He walked toward me slowly._

 _"That's a very nice effect," he said, examining the mess of glass, his voice friendly again. "I thought this room would be visually dramatic for my little film. That's why I picked this place to meet you. It's perfect, isn't it?"_

 _I ignored him, scrambling on my hands and knees, crawling toward the other door._

 _He was over me at once, his foot stepping down hard on my leg. I heard the sickening snap before I felt it. But then I did feel it, and I couldn't hold back my scream of agony. I twisted up to reach for my leg, and he was standing over me, smiling._

 _"Would you like to rethink your last request?" he asked pleasantly. His toe nudged my broken leg and I heard a piercing scream. With a shock, I realized it was mine. *****_

The bell was shrill and I jerked, hitting my head against the toilet.

"Are you alright in there?" A melodic voice called out. They sounded worried.

 ** _*_** _"You thought that would be a black tie occasion, did you?" he teased, touching the lapel of his tuxedo_ _jacket._

 _I scowled to hide my embarrassment. "I don't know how these things work. To me, at least, it seems_ _more rational than prom does." He was still grinning. "It's not funny," I said._

 _"No, you're right, it's not," he agreed, his smile fading. "I'd rather treat it like a joke, though, than believe_ _you're serious."_

 _"But I am serious."_

 _He sighed deeply. "I know. And you're really that willing?"_

 _The pain was back in his eyes. I bit my lip and nodded._

 _"So ready for this to be the end," he murmured, almost to himself, "for this to be the twilight of your life,_ _though your life has barely started. You're ready to give up everything."_

 _"It's not the end, it's the beginning," I disagreed under my breath._

 _"I'm not worth it," he said sadly._

 _"Do you remember when you told me that I didn't see myself very clearly?" I asked, raising my_ _eyebrows. "You obviously have the same blindness."_

 _"I know what I am."_

 _I sighed._

 _But his mercurial mood shifted on me. He pursed his lips, and his eyes were probing. He examined my_ _face for a long moment._

 _"You're ready now, then?" he asked._

 _"Um." I gulped. "Yes?"_

 _He smiled, and inclined his head slowly until his cold lips brushed against the skin just under the corner of_ _my jaw._

 _"Right now?" he whispered, his breath blowing cool on my neck. I shivered involuntarily._

 _"Yes," I whispered, so my voice wouldn't have a chance to break. If he thought I was bluffing, he was_ _going to be disappointed. I'd already made this decision, and I was sure. It didn't matter that my body_ _was rigid as a plank, my hands balled into fists, my breathing erratic…_

 _He chuckled darkly, and leaned away. His face did look disappointed._

 _"You can't really believe that I would give in so easily," he said with a sour edge to his mocking tone._

 _"A girl can dream."_

 _His eyebrows rose. "Is that what you dream about? Being a monster?"_

 _"Not exactly," I said, frowning at his word choice. Monster, indeed. "Mostly I dream about being with_ _you forever."_

 _His expression changed, softened and saddened by the subtle ache in my voice._

 _"Bella." His fingers lightly traced the shape of my lips. "I will stay with you — isn't that enough?"_

 _I smiled under his fingertips. "Enough for now."_

 _He frowned at my tenacity. No one was going to surrender tonight. He exhaled, and the sound was_ _practically a growl._

 _I touched his face. "Look," I said. "I love you more than everything else in the world combined. Isn't that_ _enough?"_

 _"Yes, it is enough," he answered, smiling. "Enough for forever."_

 _And he leaned down to press his cold lips once more to my throat. *****_

There was a knocking on the door of the stall and I could see a pair of ballet pumps peeking out in between he bottom of the door and the floor.

I tightened my grip on the toilet and heaved myself up, sighing heavily. I winced as pins and needles started as I regained feeling in my feet and I brushed my hair out of my eyes as I reached for the lock on the door and swung it carefully open, conscious of the person stood just outside it.

"Are you alright?" Golden eyes were worried and I froze. She was tiny, shorter than even me, with spiky dark hair and an extremely pale complexion.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Alice. Thanks." I pushed my way past her and out of the bathroom, digging through my backpack to find some alcohol gel to clean my hands before grabbing the packet Mrs Cope had given me and studying the map.

My first class was history and it was also, apparently, homeroom - whatever that meant. It was in B3, which I found easily enough on the map. Peeking through the door, I saw a man with balding brown hair writing on a white board. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and walked into the classroom, studiously ignoring the stares of the students as I walked up to the teacher.

"Um, Mr Green?" He turned to face me. "I'm the new student, Alexandra Morgan..."

"Ah, of course." He took the slip I was holding out to him and signed it quickly before shoving it back at me, alongside a thick textbook. You can sit wherever." He waved a hand at the class collectively and turned back to the whiteboard.

I turned to face the class apprehensively. The class wasn't full yet, which I found weird since I heard the bell ring not too long ago, but I shrugged it off. Looking at the empty seats, I took a seat at the back of the class near the window. It was raining again and I was a lot happier about it now that I wasn't in it.

"Hey! You're one of the new girls" I looked to the side at the sudden noise, spotting two girls standing next to the desks around me.

"Yeah, I'm Alex. Nice to meet you." I waved, not offering a hand - I did not want a repeat of this morning. Luckily, they did not seem to find anything odd about it.

"I'm Jessica and this is Angela." Said a small girl with ridiculously curly hair. I jerked as I recognised her - she was part of that brunette girls life! The other girl, a tall thin teen with dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail was also familiar and I almost couldn't believe that I was meeting them. Sometimes, I still thought that what I saw was just me going mad, but then I meet people I've never met before but know things about and I'm brought back to the reality of my situation. Taking a deep breath, I focused on the two girls in front of me.

"So, you're from, like, England, right?" Jessica asked, dropping her book on the desk next to mine and sliding into the seat. Angela did the same with the desk in front of her.

"Um, yeah. I got here a few days ago." I replied.

"That's so cool! I love your accent, it's awesome."

"It really is." Angela interrupted. "If you have any problems with American history, I'm happy to help." She smiled at me shyly. I decided then and there that I liked Angela. I hadn't made up my mind about Jessica yet.

"What are we working on at the moment?" I asked her, flipping open the text book and making a face at the contents page.

"We've been learning about Native Americans and the history of the country before 'we' came along." Angela started, but I interrupted her before she could continue.

"Yes!"I shouted quietly. "I did this for GCSE. Brilliant."

Angela laughed, but both she and Jessica looked confused.

"What's GCSE?" Angela asked.

"Oh, it's these national exams we do at sixteen in the UK, with nationally recognised qualifications from these exam charities." I explained. "I did them last June."

"Ohh." Angela and Jessica said. "Anyway, we just started learning about the establishment of our constitution and the War of Independence." Angela continued.

"Huh. I know nothing about that." I grimaced.

"Don't worry. I can help you."

"Thanks so much, Angela."

The taller girl smiled at me and I easily smiled back.

"So what classes do you have?" Jessica interjected perkily. I fumbled in my bag once again, looking for my schedule.

"Um, History - obviously - Calculus, English, Geography and then lunch. After that I have Government? and Gym. Ugh."

"We have History, Calculus and Geography together." Angela smiled.

"And you have History, Government and Gym together. Yay!" Jessica cheered. "And you have to sit with us and our friends at lunch."

I smiled, glad that I'd made friends already. The day wasn't turning out to be so bad, after all.

**?**

I take that back. This is awful. Calculus had passed easily enough, with Angela helping me along. After the horrible morning I'd had, what with that fumble in the bathroom, I thought that my day was taking a turn for the good. Walking into English, I discovered that I'd thought that a bit prematurely.

First of all, the teacher, a Mr Mason, made me introduce myself to the class. This was awkward enough. It only got worse when I was sent to sit next to an Edward Cullen, in a spot in the middle row towards the wall. It was a slow walk to the spot pointed to me, spent looking at my shoes and fiddling with the book Mason had given me - _To Kill a Mockingbird._

My slow walk was not slow enough, however, as I discovered as I stood beside the desk assigned to me. Edward was not looking at me, thank goodness, or I was pretty sure I would have fainted. Just the sight of his copper hair was enough to send my heart racing. Taking deep breaths, I set my book and bag on the table and, as slowly as I could, slid into my seat. He looked over to me as soon as I was situated and I looked away as quickly as I could once our eyes met. His eyes were a burnt gold, slightly darker than Alice's were this morning.

"I'm Edward Cullen. It's good to meet you." He held his hand out to shake. I turned to stare at him. His eyes narrowed in what looked like amusement as he continued to look at me.

That's when I remembered _he_ _was a mind-reader._

His eyes narrowed further in what was definitely not amusement this time. My cheek twitched in response, a nervous tick I knew I had and had tried, fruitlessly, to kick.

"I'm Alex Morgan. Pleasure." I said. I continued to ignore his hand, despite my curiosity over how cold it would be - I already knew it would be ice.

I shook my head to get the thoughts out of my head, noticing the suspicion in the other's gaze. I had to stop thinking.

"Right, class. Movie time!" Mr Mason announced. This was, quite possibly, the worst thing I had heard that day.

I fidgeted throughout the entire hour and a half of class and the ' _To kill a Mockingbird_ ' movie. I had, after all, already seen it. Instead, I kept my mind on what I thought of as safe things. I thought about books, movies, then I got onto the topic of if Angela would want to go see a movie with me sometime, as it was something I missed doing with my friends back in England, before my thoughts automatically went to the knowledge that Carlisle Cullen was from London. Over 300 years ago.

I shook my head vigorously, not caring what it looked like to those around me, trying to get the thoughts out of my head. But it was too late. Before I knew it, an ice cold hand had grabbed hold of my arm. I could feel how cold his hand was even through my long sleeved top and my jumper. He was glaring at me now. This kept up for the entirety of English class and by the time it was finished and Edward was dragging me up by my arm, grabbing both of our stuff and pulling me out the door and down the hallway into the unknown. I couldn't help but feel apprehensive, especially because I was beginning to lose feeling in my arm as his grip got tighter.

He had just pulled me into an empty classroom and was about to close the door when two people slipped in through the doorway. They were both familiar, but the shorter figure was the most. Alice slipped silently up to Edward with Jasper following closely behind.

"She's fine, Edward. I can see her perfectly. She won't do anything." Alice was saying.

"How can she know? How do you know?" Edward snarled, dragging me closer by the hand still on my arm.

"Edward." Jasper spoke up quietly. It looked like he was holding his breath. "Let go. You're hurting her."

Edward stared at me for a long time, not letting up until he pulled away with a growl, stalking away from me.

"She knew that I was a mind reader and that I would ice cold if she touched me." He said.

"I won't tell anyone." I offered up.

"She won't tell anyone Edward. I met her this morning when I saw her talking to you. No matter what I look for, nothing of it shows her telling."

"Your visions are subjective, Alice. You can't say that for sure."

"Yes I can, Edward. I know it and so do you."

Looking between them was a bit like watching a tennis match and I wondered why they were speaking at a pace that I could hear. I tilted my head, contemplating it as my eyes continued to watch the discussion/fight going on between Edward and Alice.

"Let me look at that." Jasper had gotten close to me without me noticing and I jumped as he touched lightly at my covered arm.

"Oh, no. That's fine. I'm good. Thanks for the offer. But I'm going to have to decline. I've got to get to class." At that, Edward and Alice looked over to me as well. I gave what I thought was a polite smile and started backing up towards the door, not wanting to turn my back on them.

"Jasper's got geography next too. Why doesn't he show you the way?" Alice phrased it like a suggestion, but I knew that it wasn't. I just nodded and moved to go out the door. I didn't wait for Jasper to follow me, but he overtook me quickly, leading me out of the building I was currently in and through to building 4. From there, it was a short walk to the right classroom. The teacher hadn't arrived yet but Angela had and, at her wave, I walked over to the seat next to her. As I plopped down, she gave me a funny look and, peeking over my shoulder, I realised that Jasper had set himself on the seat next to mine. I just gave her a shrug - I didn't know what he was doing either.

"So how was English?"

And this was why I was beginning to love Angela - nothing phased her.

"Alright. We're doing _To Kill a Mockingbird_ and I did that last year so I know all about it and it was just watching a movie today, so it was kinda boring."

She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the teacher, a tall thin man, and we both turned to face the front. The lesson went by fairly quickly, even with the holes Jasper was boring into the side of my head. I stood up quickly when the lunch bell rang, stuffing my quickly growing collection of books into my bag.

"Come on Alex, I'll show you our table. Do you need to buy lunch?" Angela gestured for me to follow her.

I shook my head. I had brought my own lunch with me to school today - I didn't trust school food to be anything even resembling good.

"Haha, good choice." Angela laughed. "The school does fresh fruit and things like cookies or chips, but the meals aren't great. I bring my own lunch, too, so we can go and get the best seats away from the boys." She led the way down the hallway and out of the building. She opened the doors of another building and led me down yet another hallway until I could hear the sounds of talking and laughter. I didn't wait for Angela to point out the correct doors and instead went ahead and opening them, stepping just inside the canteen and holding the door open for my new friend. SHe thanked me, stepping up next to me and leading the way to a large table nearer the wall of windows than the centre of the room. There were already a few people there, including a group of three boys and two other girls.

"Guys, this is Alex Morgan. She just moved here from England. Alex, this is Mike, Lee, Ben" She pointed out each of the three boys "And this is Hannah and Lauren." All five of them waved and said 'hello' and I repeated it back at them quietly, feeling a bit shy.

"Come sit here, Alex." Hannah gestured at the seat next to her and I quickly made my way over there, Angela following behind me.

"It's nice to meet you" I offered when I had sat down.

"And you. I've never met someone from England around here - we don't get many tourists." Hannah said.

"Yeah, this town is boring as hell. The only good thing even close to here is Port Angeles." Lauren said, flicking stick-straight blonde hair over a shoulder. She glanced at me from the corner of her eye, not quite making eye contact. I smiled at her and nodded sympathetically.

"Yeah, we didn't have that much to do back in England,either..." I trailed off as I noticed Jessica come up to the table, a brunette girl trailing behind her. My eyes widened as I recognised her not only from this morning but from my knowledge of her entire life.

"Hey guys, this is Bella Swan"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lunch seemed to last forever. Usually, this wasn't a problem but today, sat at this table in a new school with new friends, I wished that lunch hour would just finish. The worst thing about it was that Bella spent most of it staring at the Cullen's table. looking away quickly whenever Edward glanced up so that their eyes didn't meet. The conversation between Bella and Jessica, experienced first hand this time, was even more embarrassing than I'd originally thought.

"Who are they?" Bella asked Jessica, barely moving her gaze away from where the Cullen's - specifically, Edward - sat. Watching as Bella ducked her head, a blush blooming on her cheeks, I looked up in time to see Edwards eyes flit back to Bella.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr Cullen and his wife." Jessica said under her breath, although our entire table heard.

The rest of his family were all looking in different direction and I missed the next part of the conversation trying to work out what, exactly, they were looking at. They weren't even talking to each other.

"Alex?"

The sound of my name completely startled me and I jumped in surprise at the sudden address.

"Sorry, Angela, what were you saying?"

She laughed a little, probably at my wide eyed look - I had been completely immersed in my thoughts.

"I was just wondering what you had next. If we leave now I can show you where your class is."

"Oh, um..." I quickly rummaged through my bag to find my schedule, already having forgotten my next class. "Government!" I crowed when I found it.

"Oh yeah, you have that with Jessica. I guess she can - "

Angela was cut off as a hand grabbed my shoulder, pulling me up and away before Angela could do more than blink, although it seemed like she was the only one who had noticed my sudden departure. Probably a good thing, I considered, when I got a look at who, exactly, it was dragging me. The large, muscled back of Emmett Cullen greeted me and I was so surprised I stumbled slightly, only to be caught by another hand. Jasper's, I discovered when I looked up, quickly realising that not only were two Cullen's dragging me somewhere but, from the glance I'd gotten of the canteen before we left, no one besides Angela had even noticed - although, I don't know if this was a good or a bad thing.

Once we'd gotten a little ways down the corridor and around a corner, the hand on my shoulder dropped, although Jasper's hand on my wrist remained. I realised why when I glanced up and saw the other three Cullen's waiting. Edward and Rosalie were lent against a wall, with Alice stood in front of them. It looked like she was talking, but if she was it was too fast for me to process in the slightest.

"This is the human?" Rosalie seemed to notice me first and sneered in my direction, even as Emmett made his way over to her.

"Yes, Rosalie. This is the human." The way Alice said it made it seem like she was humouring the blonde and Rosalie obviously noticed, for her sneer grew even more pronounced.

"Why don't we just kill her and get it over with?"

The abrasive words made me stumble back a bit in shock and then I took another step back when the words actually processed. I would have taken another step back but I'd already hit a wall, known to most as Jasper, I discovered when his hands came up to steady me. His hands brushed the skin of my shoulder where my top had fallen slightly.

* _Leaving my parents was the hardest thing I'd done so far in my life, but signing up for the army was my calling and the call to fight, to help my home, was stronger than my desire to stay home. My parents understanding, even though I was underage, helped me more than I'd ever thought it would._

 _"Make sure to write, ya'hear me, Jasper!" Ma called, even as I walked out of the gate to my waiting horse - Bonny had been my pony for nearly three years and would be getting me safely to base for my training._

 _"I will, Ma. Stay safe!" I called back as I swung up on Bonny*_

I gasped, stumbling away from his steadying hands, dodging Alice's hands as they came up to do what Jasper's had just done until I came to a proper wall. I slid down it until I was on the floor, my legs against my chest and my head buried in my knees.

 _*The ding of the little bell above the door heralded my arrival into the diner. However, that wasn't what caught my attention - it was the dark haired girl who smelled exactly like me jumping down from her stool._

 _"You've kept me waiting a long time" she said, extending a hand_

 _"I'm sorry ma'am" I bowed my head, too startled to think clearly, reaching out for her hand instinctively._

 _For the first time in many, many years, I felt hope bloom_ _*_

"Edward, what's going on?" The voice was panicked and I unconsciously recognised it as Jasper's.

"I don't know, her mind's all blurry. I can't understand what I'm seeing, nothing's making sense!" Although not as panicked, Edwards voice wasn't calm either.

* _"My son Jasper" — Carlisle gestured to where I stood, tensed and ready — "has experience in this area. He will teach us how they fight, how they are to be defeated. I'm sure you can apply this to your own hunting style."_

 _The wolves in the clearing opposite us growled, shifting restlessly._

 _"They are different from you?" Edward asked for Sam._

 _Carlisle nodded. "They are all very new — only months old to this life. Children, in a way. They will have no skill or strategy, only brute strength. Tonight their numbers stand at twenty. Ten for us, ten for you — it shouldn't be difficult. The numbers may go down. The new ones fight amongst themselves."_

 _A rumble passed down the shadowy line of wolves, a low growling mutter that somehow managed to sound enthusiastic._

 _"We are willing to take more than our share, if necessary," Edward translated, his tone less indifferent now._

 _Carlisle smiled. "We'll see how it plays out."_

 _"Do you know when and how they'll arrive?"_

 _"They'll come across the mountains in four days, in the late morning. As they approach, Alice will help us intercept their path."_

 _"Thank you for the information. We will watch."_

 _With a sighing sound, the eyes sank closer to the ground one set at a time._

 _It was silent for two heartbeats as I contemplated how good of an idea this really was and then I took a step into the empty space between the vampires and the wolves. I_ _threw a wary glance toward Edward, who nodded, and then turned my back to the werewolves. I sighed, rather uncomfortable._

 _"Carlisle's right." I spoke mainly to my family, trying to ignore the audience behind me._ _"They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get their arms around you and, second, don't go for the obvious kill. That's all they'll be prepared for. As long as you come at them from the side and keep moving, they'll be too confused to respond effectively. Emmett?"_

 _Emmett stepped out of the line, towards me, with a huge smile.*_

"I'm fine, I'm fine." I said as soon as I could catch my breath, even though nobody had said anything; I could feel the concern in the air.

"Are you sure?" Even though I was expecting the question, I wasn't expecting it to come from Rosalie, even if the words were slightly sarcastic.

I nodded, as even though my breathing was starting to stabilise, I wasn't sure my voice would work as I wanted it to. To distract from this, I pushed myself up from the floor, using the wall behind me to keep my balance. My head was pounding, in overdrive to try and process all the information I'd had in one say - both Bella and Jasper's lives were long and complicated and my brain was not big enough to understand it all at the same time.

"Do you need some help?" The offer was hesitant and came from Jasper this time. He wouldn't have any more information for me to process, so I nodded and accepted his hand out of the numerous pairs held up, presumably to catch me if I fell. Even though I felt a jolt in my brain at the contact, nothing else flooded my senses like last time and the look in Jasper's eyes was relief, as he'd obviously expected me to fall back to the floor.

"What just happened?" Rosalie again, demanding this time.

That's when the bell rang. Thank God.

"Oh look at the time, I've got to get to class." I said, looking around for my bad and seeing it on Jasper's shoulder. I reached for it as I said "Still new to this school, you know, need to find my way there." Jasper just kept shifting his shoulder out of my reach, however, looking more and more amused as he did so.

"Me and Emmett have got Government as well, I'll show you the way." Jasper said, already pulling me along without waiting for my answer. As I followed along behind him, once more stumbling over my feet, i had one thought;

 _I don't think they're leaving me alone any time soon._


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. This chapter potentially has some sensitive things in it, although its all kind of skirted around in a really vague way. You also learn more about Alex's powers. Enjoy the chapter :)**

* * *

Chapter 3

Government had, perhaps, been the most awkward hour of my life. When we'd arrived at the classroom, the teacher, a Mr Jefferson, had been nice enough, directing me to the seat Jessica was frantically waving me towards. Unfortunately, this seemed to be the seat next to Jasper and in front of Emmett, which was just my luck. By the end of the period, it felt like Emmett's eyes had given me hives. And although Jessica seemed oblivious, chattering on to the girl sitting on the other side of her - Jenny, I learned halfway through the lesson when Jessica introduced us - it felt like I was in a country where they spoke nothing but gobbledegook, not understanding a word the teacher said, made even worse by the migraine I was sure was trying to kill me. I felt sorry for Jasper, who was sat rigidly next to me, his eyes constantly darting from the teacher to me. Not only that, but as I left the classroom with the rest of the students, Mr Jefferson asked me to stay behind for a moment.

"I noticed that you didn't seem to understand the subject matter in today's lesson. Is this going to be a problem?" He asked me as students continued to file out around us. I could feel my cheeks burning, as one boy snickered as he walked past.

"I didn't know I'd be taking a class like this, so I haven't had the chance to read up on it or anything. I should be fine, though, and I've made a couple of friends who have offered to help out." I told him. I definitely did not want him to offer a tutor or anything, it was bound to be mortifying.

"Alright, if you're sure." I nodded when he paused. "We have a quiz at the end of the month, so we'll see how you're doing then and if I think you need a bit of help, we'll see about a tutor." I nodded again, not daring to say anything. "Well then, off to your next class. You don't have long." He dismissed me. I couldn't get out of there fast enough and speed walked out the door, not even pausing when I saw Jasper leaning against the wall outside the classroom. It was immediately evident he had been waiting for me, because he fell easily into step behind me, even slowing down when his long strides easily outmatched mine.

"I know for a fact that you don't have Gym with me." I said. He didn't even twitch at my somewhat acerbic tone.

"I'll still make it to class on time." He replied evenly.

As it happens, we didn't actually make it to class.

We had just left the building and were crossing through the cluster of picnic benches near the canteen when someone bumped into me, obviously in a hurry to get to his next class.

"Sorry!" He shouted to me as he carried on running.

But he had done something he wasn't even aware of, something he couldn't apologise for. I grabbed Jasper's hand, uncaring what it may look like to any bystanders.

"Get me out of here."

 _*I could still feel the sting of her hand, long after she'd left my room and the house. It was going to bruise, I knew it was and I was glad I could use lacrosse as an excuse - I'd used it before, telling my friends that I'd been hit in the face whilst practising and they'd never not believed the lie.*_

I couldn't see the corridor in front of me, only the mirror image of the boy that had just bumped into me. I was still holding Jasper's hand though, and he was leading me somewhere. Even if I couldn't see him, though, I could sense his agitation. He had no idea what was happening.

* _It had been a tough day, with Gym class and an extra-tough practice. And my car was broken, so I had to walk to and from school. I sighed to myself, shaking myself._

 _"Pull yourself together, Kenny." I whispered to myself. And I had to listen. It was senior year, I only had two months before I was going to college, in New York, which I still couldn't really believe. I'd get away from school, away from all the concerned adults, away from_ her. _It would be my salvation._

 _Not looking as I crossed the road would be my damnation.*_

I could feel the tears falling down my cheeks and I brought my hands up to my mouth as I opened my eyes. I was sat sideways in a car I didn't recognise, facing outwards towards the car park and... Jasper. The look in his eyes was concerned, even if his face was blank.

"Alice, I've already told you, I have no idea what happened. She just told me to get her out of there and then she went quiet."

He was on the phone and his voice was almost panicky.

"I didn't know if you had seen anything.. No? Alright." He looked straight at me all of a sudden. "Yeah, I've got to go. She's awake." He hung up without waiting for a response and rested a hand on my knee. "Are you..."

I cut him off, pushing him out of the way as I jerked out of the car, landing on my knees before I threw up.

"Not alright then" He muttered to himself, even as he crouched beside me. I sat up soon after, pushing myself up to my feet. His hand shot out and caught me as I wavered and before I'd even noticed it he was stood beside me. "Let's get you home. We just need to stop by the nurses first." He didn't really give me a choice in the matter, as he wrapped an arm around my upper back and led me to the office I'd first been to that morning, nodding to the wide-eyed receptionist but not saying anything until he'd guided me into one of three seats situated outside a door with NURSE printed on it.

It was the work of literally a minute for Jasper to convince the nurse that I was too sick to go to class, that he'd found me puking on the way to last period and that he thought I should go home. One look at me and the nurse agreed - I really must look a state; I self-consciously patted my hair.

"I don't have a car though." I spoke up suddenly. "I walked here this morning and my aunt and uncle are both out of town until this evening."

The nurse looked contemplative.

"Hmm, well, I suppose-"

"I can take her. I don't mind and I've already missed most of last period anyway." Jasper interrupted. The nurse was apparently happy with this and walked back into her office, saying she'd inform both of our teachers.

"Come on then, Alex. I'll drop you off." Jasper pulled me off the chair without giving me a chance to myself.

"I thought Edward drove you to school." I said this without thinking, but if Jasper thought anything weird of it then he didn't say so.

"He dropped the keys off whilst we were talking to the nurse." As if that was any explanation at all.

**?**

I collapsed on my bed as soon as I got home. Jasper had dropped me off at the door and even though he seemed like he wanted to offer to stay, he didn't speak up so I was alone at last. It had been the sort of day where I just wanted to shut down and loose myself in sleep. Having to process the lives of three people - no matter how short one of those turned out to be - was wreaking havoc on my body. It was why I avoided touching anyone, no matter how curious I was about some people; if I learnt too much it could kill me, literally. It would destroy my brain; something I'd learnt the hard way. When I was seven, finally old enough to understand what was happening and how it happened, touching everyone I could to learn about everything I could, no matter how intrusive it was, I'd ended up in the hospital having brain scan after brain scan, hardly able to function. It hadn't taken long for my mum - a doctor herself - to figure out what was causing them. That was when I started wearing gloves and long sleeves, avoiding touching anyone I could. But it was still there, in the back of my mind, the knowledge that I could know everything about a person with just one touch.

I hated it now, I thought to myself as I rolled onto my back and opening my eyes to stare at the ceiling. Now that I was finally old enough to understand what it meant, I wished for nothing more than for it to go away. Especially on days like today, seeing someone's troubled life and knowing that there was nothing I could do about it - I'd tried before but, no matter who I told or what I did, nothing seemed to change fate.

I could feel the tears roll down my cheeks again as I thought about that boys - Kenny's - death, much too young. It was my least favourite part of my 'power'. Seeing someone die was always traumatic, but knowing someone would die peacefully in their sleep at the ripe old age of 93, or even knowing they'd die of an illness, never able to defeat it was different - either one was always going to happen to you. But someone being shot or run over or any number of horrific, terrifying ways to die, that was what broke my heart.

Turning onto my side, I tried to shut my brain off and sleep, even if it was barely four in the afternoon. I couldn't keep thinking. I'd go mad if I did.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Waking up at five am, hungry beyond belief, was an unusual feeling, although not surprising. I'd gone to sleep just after four the previous afternoon and only woken up briefly at half eight, when my aunt had poked her head around the door, asking me if I'd eaten. Not hungry, I'd told her I had and gotten up to go to the bathroom, before going back to sleep. Looking back on it now, not eating had been a bad decision - I was so hungry I could eat a cow.

Throwing back my covers, I scrambled out of bed, grabbing my hoodie and stuffing my feet in my slipper boots before slipping out of my room and, after a quick stop in the bathroom, going as fast as I dared down the stairs. Going straight towards the kitchen, I was already considering what I could eat; Lucy and Tim woke up at half six, so I didn't want to make too much noise and wake them before then. After much consideration, I decided to start with some toast with nutella - easy and quiet. After that, I chomped on an apple as I looked through the fridge, eventually deciding on some orange juice. I took the glass and another apple upstairs with me then, creeping past my aunt and uncle's bedroom door and settling down in my room. I was wide awake and unlikely to go back to sleep now, so I dug my old laptop out from the bottom of my bedside table drawer. It was an old model and I resisted the urge to hit the screen as it took forever to boot up and instead distracted myself by gulping down my orange juice.

When my laptop was finally on and the internet browser was open, I immediately typed in 'vampire'. At this point in time, I knew exactly what Bella and Jasper knew and whilst between them I knew a lot more than nearly anyone, it still didn't feel like _my_ knowledge - it felt like something they'd tried to teach me but had done badly, meaning I didn't understand any of it. I needed to look up a few things of my own.

**?**

I almost wanted to skip school, but it being my second day and all, I felt like I should at least show my face.

* _But when I walked into the cafeteria with Jessica - trying to keep my eyes from sweeping the place for him, and failing entirely - I saw that his four siblings of sorts were sitting together at the same table, and he was not with them._ _Mike intercepted us and steered us to his table. Jessica seemed elated by the attention, and her friends quickly joined us. But as I tried to listen to their easy chatter, I was terribly uncomfortable, waiting nervously for the moment he would arrive. I hoped that he would simply ignore me when he came, and prove my suspicions false._ _He didn't come, and as time passed I grew more and more tense._

 _I walked to Biology with more confidence when, by the end of lunch, he still hadn't showed. Mike, who was taking on the qualities of a golden retriever, walked faithfully by my side to class. I held my breath at the door, but Edward Cullen wasn't there, either. I exhaled and went to my seat*_

I remembered suddenly and going to school suddenly became a little bit easier. Even with the other four vampires there, not having the mind reader was bound to make my day - and, hopefully, my life - so much better. I was fairly confident I could avoid them - minus, perhaps, Jasper, as I had geography with him - until at least lunch and even if I couldn't, I could complain all I wanted in my head without them knowing.

My mind made up, I got ready for school, slightly more conscious of the fact that I did not want to be touched today - after yesterday, I don't think I could take anymore. Wearing woollen tights, a blush pink skater skirt that ended just above my knees and a soft, long sleeved white top, I was mostly covered. I added a knitted cream cardigan and hoped the gloves that I picked up didn't look too out of place. Taking one last look in the mirror, I moved a lock of my long blonde hair over to cover a bit of neck, hoping that it would stop anything...unwanted...from happening. Nodding at myself, I grabbed my backpack of school supplies and made my way downstairs.

**?**

By the time lunchtime came around, I was ready to go home. So far, I'd been lucky and avoided touching anyone and stayed out of the way of the Cullen's - I'd been right, without Edward there to read my mind and know where I was going, it was a lot easier to avoid them, even though Alice could see the future; thank goodness it was all very subjective. Even Geography, which I shared with Jasper, was easy to handle, as I arrived as late as possible and sat in the seat surrounded on all sides by people that were not vampires.

When I entered the canteen, however, I knew that my luck had come to an end. I walked in with Angela, as I had yesterday, trying not to look too obvious as I turned my head to look out for one of the Cullens but I must have missed the surprisingly easy to miss body of Alice Cullen as my gloved hand was grabbed and I was dragged, by Alice, to the lunch line. I looked over my shoulder to see Angela standing alone, a confused look on her face as she stared after me - oh god, she must think I was so weird. I hoped she was still my friend after this, after seeing me be dragged off by a Cullen twice in as many days.

"She'll still be your friend, you know" I was broken out my thoughts by Alice's voice "Although she has quite a lot of questions about how you know us."

"You know, I bring a packed lunch." I ignored what the seer had said, even though I was secretly relieved at the reassurance in her tone. If a seer told you something, it seemed to usually be the truth.

"I know." The mischievous smile she threw in my direction didn't make me feel any safer. In fact, as we progressed through the lunch line I could only feel my nervousness grow. I was holding what I was pretty sure was Jasper's lunch tray and was very, very tempted to drop it just to break the tension and have an excuse not to follow Alice to a table.

"It won't work." Alice singsonged just loud enough for me to hear it, although the amusement was portrayed loud and clear. I attempted a growl under my breath, sure that I was pouting. The wide smile on Alice's face definitely wasn't helping matters. She was still smiling as she paid for the two trays and I almost stomped as I followed behind her.

"Hello." The amusement was clearly heard in the low voice that greeted us when we finally stopped at a table and I couldn't help but scowl as I dropped the tray on the table none-too-gently. I didn't look up until I was slumped in a seat, feeling childish but justified at the same time. Jasper's face was entirely too amused for my liking.

"Hmph." I turned my head down to my lap, where I was unconsciously twisting my fingers together. Quickly, hoping they hadn't noticed the nervous tick, I untangled them and shrugged my backpack of my shoulders, reaching in to grab by lunch. I hadn't bought much - Lucy had given me some money and a shopping list to do after school because we were running out of food and she was working extra shifts at the hospital this week to cover for a sick coworker.

"Is that all you're eating?"

I looked up at Jasper's disapproving words, frowning.

"There is nothing wrong with my lunch." I told him. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I know its been a while since I've eaten human food, but that cannot be enough."

I looked down at my little lunchbox - I had a packet of crisps, a banana and a Nutella sandwich. In sixth form, I rarely really even had anything close to resembling lunch and in comparison, this was definitely lunch.

"I don't know what counts for lunch over here, but in England this is the traditional packed lunch." I moved It around to show him and Alice as if it was a prize in a game show, smiling.

Both Alice and Jasper looked a bit confused.

"Really?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. This is what I'm used to having for lunch - or at least, something similar."

She peered down at my box and then at her tray. She had a slice of pizza, a large bowl of salad, a pot of yogurt and a muffin, alongside a bottle of coke.

"But, you know, since you're not eating that, I'll take the muffin - " I reached over and grabbed it and although, as a vampire, she would have been more than fast enough to stop me, she didn't. "And I'll steal your drink too." I grinned at her. I remembered, from Bella's memories, how much she hated wasting so much food.

"What do you do for dinner, then?" Jasper interrupted, still obviously on the topic of food.

"The same as you." I told him innocently.

He choked, although that could have been more because Emmett had come up behind him and slapped him hard on the back than because of my words.

"I'm joking." I tell him. I am slightly confused, though, because he did not have nearly this much personality from Bella's perspective. That's one major problem with what I see though - I only see it from one perspective and I have never, ever seen myself. "I'm not sure whats for tea tonight, since I need to go and buy it after school. I might make a pasta bake..." I think contemplatively. Jasper still has a bit of a funny look on his face but Emmett guffaws loudly. I grin at him, quite happy that I'd apparently managed to shock Jasper so badly. Alice smiled from beside me and although Rosalie was pointedly ignoring me, I decided that this lunch hadn't been too bad.

Hopefully, the rest of the week would be just as good, although I had little hope for when Edward came back.


End file.
